The Real Ghostbusters: "The Revenge Of Murray The Mantis"

                  

Premiered November 2, 1987.  

It's the day before Thanksgiving in New York City.  At their headquarters, the Ghostbusters are cleaning their Ecto-1 car so it'll look good when they drive it in in New York's Thanksgiving Day parade.  Peter Venkman (Lorenzo Music) is looking forward to the parade, since he thinks it'll be a great place for him to meet women.  

Later that evening, a work crew at a warehouse is rushing to finish a balloon in time for the parade.  They're being supervised by Anne Lawson (Amy Hill), one of the organizers of the parade.  It's a balloon of Murray The Mantis, star of a cartoon series where he protected a garden from bad guy bugs.  Anne is glad the balloon will be ready, but she gets a bit unnerved when she learns the warehouse used to be a morgue.  

At the parade, Egon (Maurice LaMarche) and Ray (Frank Welker) are excited to see the Murray balloon, since they're big fans of the cartoon.  Venkman, on the hand, has never heard of Murray or his show.  

The parade is going well until suddenly, the Murray balloon turns into an actual giant Praying Mantis!

It wrecks the parade and sends spectators fleeing in terror.  The Ghostbusters snap into action and attack the big bug.  Ann informs them the Murray balloon was made in a building that was once a morgue.  Ray figures that the balloon must have picked up "death force energy" from the old morgue, which made it come to life.  

After chasing the mantis to Central Park, the Ghostbusters realize they won't be able to defeat Murray by themselves.  Winston Zeddemore (Arsenio Hall) says if they want to take down Murray, they'll need help from "the Big Guy "- The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man!  The Ghostbusters stopped Stay Puft from destroying New York (as seen in the Ghostbusters movie) and he's been held captive in their containment unit ever since.  

If they release Stay Puft, he might be able to help them beat Murray.  However, there's also a possibility that he could destroy the city.  Is it worth the risk?  

Will Murray The Mantis ruin Thanksgiving?

J.A. Morris says:

This is a solid Thanksgiving episode of a good 1980s cartoon.  In earlier reviews, we/ve talked about how the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade is just a big as part of Thanksgiving Day as turkey, pumpkin pie and cranberries.  "The Revenge Of Murray The Mantis" puts its entire focus on the parade and we don't get the usual Thanksgiving tropes like culinary disasters or annoying relatives.  

The story here is pretty basic Ghostbusters stuff.  A parade balloon comes to life, animated by "death energy" and the Ghostbusters jump into action to stop it.  The addition of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man makes the episode feel more connected with the original theatrical film, something you can't say about every episode.  Slimer, another ghost who appeared in the movie also helps them control Stay Puft.  

When I was a kid, there always seemed to be balloons that featured characters who had fallen into obscurity and my only point of reference for them was the Macy's parade.  Linus The Lion Hearted is a good example.  I believe Murray is meant to represent cartoon characters who have faded from public memory, since Peter Venkman has never heard of Murray or his old cartoon.  

The Real Ghostbusters featured a great voice cast and they all do fine work here, even if they don't sound much like their movie counterparts.  Frank Welker does double-duty as Ray Stantz and Slimer. 

If I had any problems with "The Revenge Of Murray The Mantis," it's that the series' low budget undermines the story, especially its action scenes.  The episode features a fight between Murray and Stay Puft, two giant monstrous characters.  However, we don't really ever see both characters in the same shot.   The closest we get to seeing Murray and Stay Puft onscreen simultaneously is when Ray watches them through his binoculars.  I understand it's a cheap cartoon from more than 30 years ago, but it's still disappointing.   

"The Revenge Of Murray The Mantis" is an enjoyable tribute to the Macy's parade that features likeable characters, fun action scenes and great voice-acting.  It's recommended to all fans of the parade and especially recommended to Ghostbusters fans.

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 pumpkin pies.

RigbyMel says:

I remember watching a fair bit of The Real Ghostbusters back in the mists of the 1980s, partly because my youngest brother was really into the show, but I have no memory at all of seeing this Thanksgiving themed episode until checking it out in recent years.  

The action essentially boils down to the Thanksgiving day parade being interrupted by a kaiju battle between the possessed Murray The Mantis balloon and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.  High concept!

I like the balloon/kaiju mayhem idea very much but, as J.A. Morris points out above, I do feel that the low-rent animation makes the overall impact a bit...underwhelming.  

Still, "The Revenge of Murray The Mantis" is enjoyable enough to appeal to Thanksgiving day parade and Ghostbusters fans alike, even if it's not a "classic."

RigbyMel's rating:

2 and a half pumpkin pies.

A Flintstones Christmas Carol

Premiered November  21, 1994.

It's Christmas Eve in the town of Bedrock.  Fred Flintstone (Henry Corden) is busily preparing for his role as Ebonezer Scrooge in the Bedrock Community Players production of A Christmas Carol.  In fact, Fred's devoted so much time to learning his lines that he's neglected other duties and has taken the needs of his family for granted.      

Fred runs a red light because he is too busy working on his lines.  He also treats his fellow actors with disrespect.  Fred appears to be taking on the characteristics of Scrooge while preparing to play him.  

Fred's wife Wilma (Jean Vander Pyl) is also involved with the play, working as its stage manager.  Her duties increase when the play's costume designer gets sick with a flu known as "the Bedrock Bug."  Wilma has to go to the theater early, so she asks Fred to pick up Pebbles (Russi Taylor) from cave care.

On the way to the theatre, Fred realizes that he never bought any Christmas presents for Wilma and  Pebbles.  Fred has to scramble at the last minute to get gifts before showtime.  

When Fred arrives at the theatre, Wilma is very angry at him because Fred forgot to pick up Pebbles from cave care.  Wilma tells her husband that ever since he was cast as Scrooge, he's only thought of himself.  

When the play begins, Fred gives the performance of a lifetime.  The audience loves him, but Wilma still isn't ready to forgive him.  This creates tension backstage.  

Barney Rubble (Frank Welker) portrays Bob Cragit in the play.

The play gets more complicated when several actors catch the Bedrock Bug and are forced to drop out. This means that in addition to her stage manager duties, Wilma is forced to take over multiple roles.  

Will Fred take the message of A Christmas Carol to heart and stop acting like a Scrooge offstage?  Can Wilma keep the play going while the Bedrock Bug keeps infecting actors?  

J.A. Morris says:

This another special that was new to me and I enjoyed it. 

It's sometimes unconvincing when characters from TV series who are generally nice start acting like Scrooge in order to shoehorn a Dickens adaptation into the story.  Fred is a good guy, but in various series, he's occasionally displayed boorish behaviors.  So it's believable when Fred begins to channel Scrooge on and offstage.  

Mr. Slate (John Stephenson) plays Marley's Ghost.

The heart of the special is a stone age stage performance of A Christmas Carol.  It's a good adaptation that hits most of Dickens' most important notes, while skipping "Ignorance and Want."  For a production that takes place in the stone age, the Bedrock Community Theater has very impressive special effects, including the ability to project "ghosts" on to the stage.

Like previous Flintstones holiday offerings, A Flintstones Christmas Carol features a strong cast of voice actors.  Henry Corden and Jean Vander Pyl, longtime voices of Fred and Wilma, are excellent as the leads.  Voice acting legends Don Messick and Frank Welker are also great.  Charles Brickens, author of A Christmas Carol in this special, is voiced by film actor John Rhys-Davies, who is best known for his roles in the Indiana Jones and Lord Of The Rings franchises.

Charles Brickens and Wilma prepare for the play to begin.

No Flintstones special would be complete without some clever modern stone age technology.  A Flintstones Christmas Carol features a dinosaur-powered snowplow.

But it's not a perfect holiday special.   A Flintstone Christmas Carol feels a bit too long.  There are several scenes and moments that don't move the plot forward and they feel like filler.  It has a running time of one hour and nine minutes and it could've probably been 45-50 minutes.  

Tiny Tim is played by Bam-Bam (Don Messick). 

Wilma and others repeatedly scold Fred for acting like Scrooge in his personal life.  Since we know that like Scrooge, Fred will (SPOILER ALERT!) eventually see the error of his ways and make things right, the scolding gets a bet old.  

Other than that, it's a good retelling of Dickens' story.  

If you're a fan of A Christmas Carol and the Flintstones, you'll probably enjoy this special.  It's a clever adaptation and I recommend it, but it's slightly over-long running time prevents me from giving it my highest rating.

J.A. Morris' rating:

  .5

3 and a half candy canes.

The New Scooby Doo Mysteries: "Nutcracker Scoob"

Premiered December 1, 1984.

“Like, bah humbag, the Ghost of Christmas Past is coming to haunt me!”
-Shaggy, playing Ebenezer Scrooge

It’s Christmas Eve and Scooby Doo (Don Messick), his nephew Scrappy (Messick) and their mystery-solving pals are helping an orphanage produce their Christmas pageant, which will feature performances of A Christmas Carol and The Nutcracker ballet.

Mrs. Fezziwig, the owner of the home, is grateful for the gang’s help.  Tiny Tina, a resident of the orphanage, is excited when Fred (Frank Welker) helps her put the Nutcracker on top of the Christmas tree.

Their seasonal spirits are dampened when millionaire Winslow Nickelby (Welker) and his cat Snowball (Welker) arrive.  The orphanage used to belong to Nickelby and he intends to buy it back, which would leave the children with nowhere to live.

Mrs. Fezziwig refuses to sell, but Nickelby says he’ll take it over “one way or another.”  Fezziwig assures the kids she'll never sell their home to Nickelby.

Later, while Scooby and Shaggy (Casey Kasem) are rehearsing a scene from A Christmas Carol,  they’re interrupted by a “spirit” who calls itself the Ghost of Christmas Never!  The ghost chases the gang outside into the snow.

When they go back inside the orphanage, the gans discovers that the stage and all its holiday decor have been trashed.  Daphne (Heather North) finds a lapel pin in the wreckage that bears the inscription “WN.”  Everyone guesses that WN must stand for Winslow Nickelby and they decide to pay him a visit.

Scooby and friends overhear Nickelby say that his uncle left a valuable gem in the orphanage.  While Nickelby has no legal rights to the orphanage, he says that his “friend” will force the orphans to leave their home.  This leads Shaggy to believe Nickelby is “in cahoots” with the Ghost of Christmas Never.

The gang decides that the emerald is the key to discovering the identity of the ghost and saving the orphanage.  When they search for the emerald, they find the ghost instead!  The Ghost of Christmas Never disappears with the emerald, which makes solving the mystery at hand even more difficult.

Will Scooby and his friends solve the mystery and save Mrs. Fezziwig’s orphanage?  Is Nickelby connected to the Ghost of Christmas Never?  Will the ghost’s activities ruin the Christmas pageant?  Will Nickelby find the spirit of Christmas in his heart and let the children stay in the orphanage?

J.A. Morris says:

I mentioned in our recent review of this series’ Halloween episode that its regular cast only featured Scooby Doo, Shaggy, Daphne and Scrappy.  This episode includes Fred as a guest star, but not Velma.  So Velma fans, consider yourselves warned.

Just like the Halloween episode, “Nutcracker Scoob” is a typical episode of Scooby Doo, except that it takes place at Christmas.  Lots of Christmas episodes feature references to A Christmas Carol and music from The Nutcracker ballet.  This episode features both, you can't get much more Christas-y than that!

The stakes are upped a little bit too.  I don’t remember other Scooby villains who wanted to force orphans out of their home!  Perhaps that was added to make Winslow Nickelby even more Scrooge-ish.  Nickelby and the Ghost Of Christmas Never are good antagonists for the gang and the orphanage.

Speaking of Scrooge, this episode features lots of references to A Christmas Carol and other works by Charles Dickens. Fezziwig, the name of the orphanage’s owner, was young Scrooge’s mentor.  Tiny Tina is a good stand-in for Tiny Tim.   Nickelby takes his name from Nicholas Nickelby.  However, Nickelby does not get visited by three spirits, “Nutcracker Scoob” features only one ghost.

“Nutcracker Scoob” includes the usual Scooby Doo chase scenes, with the added fun of the Christmas setting.  That means the chases involve skis and horse-drawn sleighs!

I especially liked the sleigh that looks like the Mystery Machine.

Plus, the chases and other scenes are accompanied by holiday tunes like “Deck The Halls,” “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” and “Jingle Bells”

We try to avoid spoilers here, even for 35 year-old episodes.  I won’t spoil the detail the ending of “Nutcracker Scoob,” but since it was part of a Saturday morning animated series, and it’s a Christmas episode, I don’t think it’ll come as a shock that a happy holiday will be enjoyed by everyone before the episode is over.

It’s worth noting that this is the final episode of The New Scooby Doo Mysteries.  It’s also the last appearance of Fred (as a grownup) until 1998.

I enjoyed this Christmas episode, but I would’ve enjoyed it more if Velma had been around. Otherwise, “Nutcracker Scoob” has comedy, action, good villains and it should provide solid Yuletide entertainment for everyone.

 J.A. Morris’ rating:

3 candy canes.

Be Cool Scooby Doo : "Halloween"

Premiered September 27, 2017.

"Halloween isn’t about candy and dressing up as topical celebrities.  The ancient roots of the holiday are tied to the autumn equinox and the Gaelic harvest festivals."

"Is no one else bothered by the crass commercialization of Halloween?"
-Velma

"Like, I just noticed without candy as a distraction, Halloween is utterly terrifying and filled with disturbing imagery!"
-Shaggy

When Fred Jones (Frank Welker)  was a little boy, he went trick or treating at a house he had never seen before.

Fred (center) trick or treating as a young boy, dressed as his favorite detective.

The house was occupied by a witch who terrorized Fred.  He escaped and brought the police to the house...but it was nowhere to be seen, nor was the witch.  For the first time, Fred’s detective skills were unable to solve a mystery.

On Halloween eleven years later, Fred is visiting a town called Newtown with his friends Scooby Doo (Welker) Shaggy (Matthew Lillard),Velma (Kate Micucci) and Daphne (Grey Delisle).  Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne are all excited about costumes and candy.

Shaggy and Scooby dressed as a pocket and candy vending machine.

Velma is upset about the crass commercialization of Halloween and reminds her friends of its ancient Celtic origins. Since Velma isn’t dressing up, Daphne wears a “Zombie Velma” costume for Halloween to annoy her.

In contrast to his friends, Fred plans to skip the Halloween celebrations and stay in his hotel room.  His “failure” to solve the mystery of the disappearing witch house has taught him that Halloween is the one night when mysteries are impossible to solve.  However, Fred’s friends eventually talk him into joining them for trick or treating.

Shaggy and Scooby’s quest for candy leads them to a house in the woods.  Unfortunately, it’s the residence of a witch!  She chases the gang until Scoob and Shag create a diversion.

The witch scares the locals so much that Newtown’s Neighborhood Watch cancels Halloween.

Fred realizes the house (and the witch) is the same one he stumbled on in a different town eleven years earlier!  But how could the house move?   Velma recalls a Russian folk tale about a witch named Baba Yaga who lived in a house that had chicken legs which enabled it to move around.

When the gang returns to the house to search for clues, the house sprouts chicken legs and chases them once again!

Could this witch really be the Baba Yaga?  Can Halloween be saved from cancellation?  Will Fred finally solve the mystery that has haunted him for eleven years?

J.A. Morris says:

As you may have gathered by looking at the screencaps above, Be Cool, Scooby Doo featured redesigned versions of Scooby and friends.  In spite of these changes, the characterizations and the stories were very much in the spirit of earlier Scooby TV series.

"Halloween" is a very good holiday episode.  In addition to the usual seasonal trappings, Velma gives her friends (and the viewers) a lesson about the Celtic origins of Halloween.  I'm guessing her complaints about the "commercialization" of All Hallow's Eve are meant to remind us of the similar sentiments Charlie Brown expressed about Christmas.

Like most Scooby Doo episodes, we get a "monster of the week" and entertaining chase scenes.  Baba Yaga is a great antagonist and using a witch from Russian folklore is a nice touch.

The voice actors here are all A+ cartoon talents.  Frank Welker does great performing double duty as Fred and Scooby Doo.  It's worth noting that Scooby displays a much more varied vocabulary that we've heard in earlier incarnations.  He exclaims "the logic is impeccable" near the beginning of "Halloween."  That's a big leap from his usual "ruh roh!"

Matthew Lillard, who played Shaggy in the live action movies is also great as Scooby's best bud.  Velma is voiced by Kate Micucci, best known for her work in the comedy musical duo Garfunkel and Oates (and she's also voiced tons of other animated characters) is a great Velma.  Rounding out the cast, Grey Delisle has been voicing Daphne since 2001 and she instills Daphne with a little more sarcasm and depth than in earlier iterations.

However, one thing bothered me about this episode.  Velma mentions refers to Halloween as Samhain, the original Gaelic name for the occasion.  She pronounces it "Sam Hane."  This bugged me, because I believe Velma, the smartest and most resourceful member of the mystery gang,  would make an effort to research Samhain and pronounce it correctly.  It gives me the impression that the writers and producers didn't do their research on Samhain.

"Halloween" is a very enjoyable Scooby Doo episode that is recommended for every fan of Scoob and gang.  The mispronunciation of Samhain prevents me from giving it our highest rating.

J.A. Morris' rating:

.5

3 and a half jack o'lanterns.

RigbyMel says: 

"Halloween" is a fun episode of what looks to be a generally series.   Be Cool, Scooby Doo!  is the 12th incarnation of the franchise and has lots of meta-fun going on in it.   The characters may be redesigned, but their traits hew pretty closely to the original 1969 series, with perhaps a bit more of a comedic slant with gags going to all the characters, not just Shaggy and Scooby. 

Shaggy and Scooby take their trick-or-treat planning VERY seriously!

There are some great little in-jokes, like 11 year old Fred dressing up as his favorite Nordic detective.  I think I also spied a visual reference to The Creeper - a villain from the original series - in a scene involving kids out trick or treating.

The character redesign is fun rather than jarring in this series. 

Shaggy and Scooby's costumes and quest for candy were much appreciated as well and I really liked their attempt to fool the witch by promoting a fake cereal called "I Can't Believe It's Not The Fear Of Children."

I quite enjoyed this episode's references to Baba Yaga and to the Celtic origins of Halloween.   Unlike J.A. Morris, I am going to attribute Velma's mispronunciation of  "Samhain" to "reader vocabulary" (i.e., having read the word only and not being quite sure of how to pronounce it) and not hold it against her, or the show!

The central mystery of the witch traveling from town to town over the course of years and causing Halloween to be cancelled in each town visited rings interestingly in the current age of "trunk or treat" and generally spurious Halloween candy paranoia.

Shaggy and Scooby are disappointed they only collected a "mound" of candy, rather than a "mountain"

This is a super-fun Halloween episode with trick or treating, candy, witches, zombies, folklore (of the Celtic AND Russian variety) and the Scooby Gang.  It's well worth a look should you have the time and inclination. 

RigbyMel's rating:

4 jack o lanterns!